I WAS interested to read Keith Bruce is unaware of Glasgow City Council's active travel plans for the Finnieston and SECC area ("The Hydro alone has not brought about the Finnieston effect", Herald Arts, December 27).

Let's look at what Glasgow City Council has already done, in their view, to encourage active travel, ie walking and cycling, in the SECC area: It has redetermined the footway outside the Hilton Garden Inn to be open to cyclists as well as pedestrians, so for some years now it has been legal for cyclists to join pedestrians on this relatively narrow footway outside the hotel.

It has also redesigned the road system to acccomodate the new multi-storey car park by implementing a one-way gyratory system, completely ignoring the wish of cyclists to proceed north on Finnieston Street without making a huge detour around the car park and also putting extra hurdles in the way of pedestrians trying to follow the same route.

So now, to make it "easier" for cyclists, its solution is to redetermine the east footway of Finnieston Street from the expressway down to the Clyde Arc Bridge to be two-way for cyclists and pedestrians. This footway is only two metres wide and already has a number of road signs on it. And the council's response when Go Bike, the Strathclyde Cycle Campaign, has suggested better facilities - a contraflow, northbound lane for cyclists past the car park on Finnieston Street and cycle lanes using part of the current roadway outside the hotel: "A contraflow lane was considered but could not be accommodated without significant impact on traffic accessing the SECC."

Thus we see the council's priorities: traffic is motor traffic and must not be impeded, whereas those of us who choose active travel are not considered as "traffic" and should really stick to the cycle/pedestrian bridge from Exhibition Station into the SECC complex - or travel by car.

Go Bike and other active travel campaigners have some way to go to achieve our aim of making Glasgow a pedestrian and cycle friendly city.

Tricia Fort,

Convenor, Go Bike! The Strathclyde Cycle Campaign,

PO Box 15175, Glasgow.